2
general::
noun container ADJ. beer, wine VERB + BARREL fill They filled the barrels with cider BARREL + VERB contain sth PREP. a/per ~ The price of oil had fallen to $16 per barrel. | by the ~ Beer is sold by the barrel. | ~ of a barrel of beer/oil of a gun ADJ. gun, rifle I felt the gun barrel at my head VERB + BARREL look down, peer/squint along She found herself looking down the barrel of a gun. Pulling his rifle to his shoulder he squinted along the barrel. BARREL + VERB point PHRASES the barrel of a gun
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
3
general::
see BOTH BARRELS; BOTTOM OF THE BARREL; CASH ON THE BARRELHEAD; LIKE SHOOTING FISH IN A BARREL; LOCK, STOCK, AND BARREL; MORE FUN THAN A BARREL OF MONKEYS; OVER A BARREL; PORK BARREL; ROTTEN APPLE (SPOILS THE BARREL).
American Heritage Idioms